Douglas Elton Ulman Fairbanks, Jr.

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Douglas Elton Ulman Fairbanks, Jr., American actor, socialite, and businessman (born Dec. 9, 1909, New York, N.Y.—died May 7, 2000, New York), had a successful film career before moving on to meritorious World War II service and later pursuing business interests and acting as executive producer and host of a television show as well as giving support to a number of charitable, artistic, diplomatic, and educational enterprises. The son of silent-screen swashbuckling hero Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., he managed to create his own image despite playing a few similar roles himself, in part by using his urbane charm and good looks to help him gain social position. Fairbanks began his film career early, in 1923, in Stephen Steps Out, and followed that with such films as Stella Dallas (1925), A Woman of Affairs (1928), and The Power of the Press (1928), all silent films. He also occasionally appeared on the Los Angeles stage. His career gained momentum with the introduction of sound to motion pictures and with the publicity surrounding his marriage to Joan Crawford in 1929—and the end of the marriage four years later—and he tallied such successes as The Dawn Patrol (1930), Little Caesar (1930), Morning Glory (1933), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), and Gunga Din (1939). During World War II Fairbanks served in the U.S. Navy with such distinction that he received a number of awards, including an honorary knighthood (1949) from the British king, George VI, for his contribution to joint Anglo-American operations. Following the war he spent much of his time in England and made only a few films. Instead, he concentrated on charitable and social concerns in addition to producing and acting in selected episodes of a British television anthology drama series, Douglas Fairbanks Presents, during the 1950s. In the 1970s Fairbanks returned to the U.S. to live. Besides seeing to his business interests, he toured in such plays as My Fair Lady and The Pleasure of His Company and appeared in his final film, Ghost Story (1981). Fairbanks also took pride in his writing; in addition to publishing poetry, stories, and articles in a number of prestigious magazines, he produced two volumes of memoirs, The Salad Days (1988) and A Hell of a War (1993).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Karen Sparks, Director and Editor, Britannica Book of the Year.

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